Top 10 Personal Trainer Myths

1. Anyone can be a personal trainer. Anyone can enroll and take a certification courses, but not everyone has what it takes to have a successful career as a personal trainer. Aside from the innate passion for fitness, a successful personal trainer must also be able to effectively engage with and relate to their clients.

2. Trainers are stuck in the gym. Most trainers work in the gym because that’s where a majority of clients can be found. However, many personal trainers have flexible schedules and enjoy working either outdoor, at community centers, or at the homes of their clients. For long-term success, personal trainers should find the environment that works best with their style.

3. PTs can rehabilitate injuries. This is a big misconception since personal trainers cannot independently prescribe rehabilitation workouts. At best, the PT must always consult with a physiotherapists or other health professionals in order to design a specialized wellness program for clients.

4. Being a PT is only for young people. A very diverse age group of people enroll in physical training services. Many of them prefer to work with someone they can relate to so the opportunities for personal trainers are always there for both younger and older fitness specialists.

5. Personal training is easy money. A career in personal training is what you make of it. You have to put in consistent work and lead by example. That alone requires a lot of discipline—and maintaining such focus and dedication is no easy task.

6. Trainers know it all. Being a trainer requires continuous education, and while a PT may have at least one or two tried-and-tested methods, they're also constantly testing and tweaking new programs and exercises they can use to improve their training program.

7. Clients are always the ones who approach PTs. Clients don’t often take the initiative to enroll themselves in a training program. They’re often encouraged by someone they know and approaching a PT can be intimidating. Clients are likely to respond to whoever is interested enough to have that conversation with them.

8. Advertising doesn’t work. It’d be a major miss to not use social media or a personal website to advocate your brand. As mentioned in myth #7, you have to make potential clients feel that you’re never out of their reach. For many PTs, it’s hard to not advertise what they sell, and not sell what they can deliver. You have to be assertive if you want to stand out in a market that’s steadily growing.

9. Personal trainers can always learn on their own. Even PTs have to take personal training courses from some of the medical and fitness industry’s top specialists like Meditec. Not only does it boost credentials, but it also gives the PT a reliable network of important tools and resources that he can use to jump-start his program or build his own network.

10. They eat healthy all the time. Trainers have their own cheat days, too! They don’t deprive themselves of comfort foods and they definitely don’t starve themselves to stay fit. But of course, personal trainers are masters of their trade, so they have a way of balancing their diet and keeping up with their own fitness program.

Personal trainers have their own shortcomings and limitations, too. But for the most part, they continue to overcome these challenges because of their own dedication as well as the high quality training they receive. Start strong and take Meditec’s Personal Training Certification so that you can get an access to a wide range of tools that will help you steadily take your fitness instructor career onto the next level.